The Dinner
by McFucktruck
Summary: Companion piece to Reunited, can be read separately. Zuko invites his old crew to dinner at the palace after he finds out they didn't die at the siege of the North.


_**The Dinner**_

 **AN: Alright so I was just going to write the dinner part because a few of you requested it and because the idea wouldn't leave me alone. I imagined that the sequel would end up at 3k or so, but then I didn't know where to start and then it just went on and on and on, so here we are. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

The afternoon had gone by quickly for Zuko. The meeting was drawn up to discuss the security in the city, as well as in the Fire Nation colonies, and was held in a small room where they could all sit comfortably. They also had tea and other refreshments available, much to Zuko's relief.

Zuko had calmly explained to them that their security was remarkably lax and that they should improve their diligence. He'd suggested that they employed more attentive guards and kept the strongholds in better condition, as well as checking for eventual loopholes where people could get in and out.

Commanders, generals, captains and other people in administrative positions were outraged by his suggestions and tried to assure him that his claims were false, and that their guards were very competent.

Zuko only smirked and asked them if they had not noticed the times he had broken in or if they were just trying to save face. He rustled the folder he had placed on the table, where he had filed his complaints.

"And just when did you break into the city prison, Lord Zuko?" asked the city guard accusatory.

"Uuuuh, let me think… Nine days ago, at night, when the guards' shifts ended. The outwards security was fine, not many people would have been able to sneak through. When I went inside I hid between the unguarded spaces in the west corridor, and then I climbed up to the ceiling and jumped along the beams in the roof, completely undetected, over the guards' heads."

The assembled heads of security were gaping at the Fire Lord's explanation. Most of them thought he was bluffing, but evidently he was not.

"And I freed the Avatar from Zhao, without using fire bending. And he commanded the entire Pohuai stronghold, as well as fifteen Yu Yan archers."

Heads turned towards him as the company gaped in disbelief at his admission.

"You're the Blue Spirit. You've been the Blue Spirit all along."

"Uuh, yes. I should probably remove the reward on my head, though." Zuko mused sheepishly as he drank some of his tea.

"I also managed to break in and out of the boiling rock." He paused for a moment. "I admit it was much easier to sneak in than out. But I had a pretty foolproof plan to get out of there. Well, Sokka and I figured it out when we were inside, we kind of thought that it might have been a one-way trip."

The Warden, Mai's uncle, glared at him as he boasted about his achievements. "And what exactly was the other plan?"

"I got myself shut into the cooler and removed the most of the screws. Then Sokka and I were going to detach it from the outside and use it as a boat. The timing was off though, so Chit Sang took the cooler. And if I hadn't been caught we could have simply messed with the instructions board in the office and been put on the job to escort people off the gondola. It would have been a cleaner job. "

"You've been inside a cooler?" one of the city guards asked in awe. "Willingly?!"

"The North Pole was worse. And it was necessary." Said Zuko sourly and glared pointedly at the Warden. "I seemed to need some _ice_ on certain wounds." He just couldn't help it. The snide comment flew out of his mouth before he could think about the impression it would give the group, and the rumors it could start.

The entire room gasped as they witnessed the stare down between the Warden and the Fire Lord. Zuko refused to look away and stared fiercely into his eyes. The Warden wouldn't back down and chillingly said "You broke my nieces heart, it wasn't unprovoked, my Lord."

"It was."

"Wasn't."

"Was too."

"Was not."

" _Was too!"_

" _It was not necessary!_ You could have just handed me over to my father and let him kill me, but you had the nerve to call my sister there. And you had the nerve beat me up, brutally, _without provocation_. You knew I wouldn't give you any information. And you knew very well what your precious prison guards put me through after you left."

"I couldn't have known for sure if you'd give information, my Lord. And you were known to have joined the Avatar, so it was only logical to question you thoroughly."

"It wasn't for information, it was for revenge."

"You have no proof of that."

"I hope you are aware that I broke up with her so that she wouldn't get dragged into the whole mess. She would have been banished like me, and it was unfair to drag her into it. It was for her safety."

"She didn't see it that way. You didn't even ask her."

"What was I supposed to say. "Hi Mai, I'm joining the Avatar to teach him fire bending so that he can defeat the Fire Lord. Would you like to be branded a traitor and have _Azula_ on your heels?" because that sounds pretty damn stupid, seeing as-"

"Gentlemen!" interrupted an outraged commander "As interesting this is to listen to I don't believe we were here to discuss the Fire Lord's love life. And since you have not pressed charges I do not believe that you intend to, my Lord, so could we please drop it?"

"Fine by me." Retorted Zuko cooperatively and tensely straightened his back again.

"Whatever." Said the Warden darkly before he decided to focus on the issue. "So aside from our interrogation tactics, how would you suggest we maximize security?"

"Well, if you remove the helmets the guards would immediately notice impostors. Or maybe we could work out a different design. Ah, and you have a blind spot outside, where the coolers are, obviously, since we used that exact spot. And it would be nice if you removed the guards who deliberately bait and anger the prisoners. Chit Sang, for example, used fire bending as defense because the guard attacked him. These kinds of provocations are not ideal for a calm and secure prison."

"I'll see to it." Said the Warden curtly and quickly wrote down the instructions on the paper he had brought.

The rest of the meeting went painlessly and only minor objections were raised, mostly regarding the Fire Lord's hobby of breaking an entry and spying. Zuko made sure they knew that he might pop in now and then to test their security. It didn't matter that he tried to defend his actions by explaining that it was a good way to both see the quality of the security (which was lacking) and to see how well they were doing their jobs (to see which ones were abusing their positions). By the end of the meeting everyone was well and thoroughly offended and riled up.

The meeting was adjourned well after the usual lunch hours and the company went their separate ways. Zuko ordered a small lunch to be brought up to his office, where he spent the next five hours trying to catch up with his paperwork. The pile was never ending and sometimes, if he were lucky, he'd reach the point where he was only a couple of days behind.

Zuko had found that his father seriously neglected his duties in most departments and rather left it to his advisors, who had way too much power for Zuko's taste. That was one of the reasons he spent so much time cooped up in his office.

The other reason was that he was pretty lonely at the time, and tried to keep himself busy with work. The same work that had led Mai to dump him because he was ´boring´. She had even called him "a big _blah_." He really should have seen that one coming.

He was interrupted five times in those hours. One would think that having two guards outside with orders to let no one in would be sufficient when you wanted to be left alone. Apparently they were easily brought down by some very strong arguments and a big pile of whining.

Two interruptions were from his advisors who couldn't stop telling him how they thought he ought to live his life. He promptly ordered them to leave his office, which they refused. Then he bodily shoved them out and shut the door.

One interruption was form the kitchen where they wondered if he had actually invited twenty people for dinner or if he had been jesting. He assured them that he was completely serious, and spent the next couple of minutes drawing up the menu and arguing with the Chef.

Another interruption had been regarding Daisy and where she was being held at the moment, which at the moment was the Royal Stables. Apparently she didn't like her lodgings and was currently redecorating the place, while the palace staff were unable to reign her in. Zuko patiently told them to leave food nearby, preferably cow-pig, and wait for her to calm down.

The last interruption was a timid servant who informed him that there were people there to see him.

"Already?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, my Lord, it's six o'clock." The servant looked unsettled as he decided to speak his mind. "Sir, if I might warn you… these people seem like a rather dangerous bunch. Perhaps you should bring some guards with you if you choose to receive them."

"I'm sure I can manage them." Said Zuko amusedly. "I invited them to dinner, after all."

The servant said nothing but looked as if he would rather have them thrown out. Zuko paid him no mind as he stood up and straightened out his robes.

"Do I have any ink on my face?" he asked the servant.

"No, my Lord. I think you managed to stay out of the inkwell today."

"And the headpiece?" he inquired nervously. He didn't want to make a bad entrance.

"It's a bit… crooked."

Zuko sighed and sat back down in the chair and turned his back to the servant, who expertly removed the headpiece, retied the topknot, and reattached the crown. "There you go, sir." He said quietly and moved out of his way, leaving the Fire Lord in his office.

Zuko promptly made his way through the halls from his office to the reception room, and he made sure to keep the right speed to make his robes swirl slightly behind him. Just so he wouldn't make a bad entrance, of course. His steps faltered slightly in the last corridor as his nerves got to him. What if they were still mad at him? What if they just felt pressured to come and didn't actually want to. What if-

And then the guards opened the double doors for him, and he strode through with false confidence. He stopped about three meters from the group of fourteen. The crews' heads turned to him as they waited for him to speak first, according to protocol.

"Hello." He started out with a mouth as dry as paper. "I, uh, see you've made it. Not that I thought you wouldn't, I mean, I was just, it's nice to… see you? I guess." he coughed uncomfortably and fiddled with the hem of his robes, suddenly feeling very awkward in his large robes. Was there any way he could have fucked that up more? He had even prepared a speech, but he'd blanked out again.

Lieutenant Jee took over from there to help him save face. "I managed to get most of us together, Prince Zuko, but I'm afraid some of us are employed elsewhere." He paused momentarily and grinned as he glanced over Zuko's robed figure. "I can see that you got out of your dirty robes. How much did she slobber over them anyway?"

"Enough to make the servants cry. They'll just have to get used to it." Replied Zuko, thankful for the distraction. "Or allow me to dress more comfortably once in a while." He added thoughtfully.

"Why don't you just make them obey?" one of the younger crewmen chimed in.

"There's an awful lot of history with the dress code. I've managed to trim it down to four layers instead of seven, and that almost caused a riot in here. Among the Nobles, of course." Zuko said despondently with a sigh. "Anyway, I'm afraid Uncle is still in Ba Sing See, so you'll just have to do with me."

Zuko tried to get a read of the audience, but they seemed to have expected the news, so they didn't seem terribly disappointed. The small talk kept going as the crew looked both intimidated and excited. This was when Zuko realized that they were kind of happy to see him too. The thought had barely crossed his mind because he had been so busy being nervous.

"So do we get a tour of this fancy-pants place or not? Because I really want to see it and I haven't been here before."

"I, uh, sure, dinner isn't for an hour, anyway. We're still rebuilding a bit around the courtyard though, so it might not be the prettiest sight."

Zuko turned slightly and gestured that they follow him. Slowly the company walked along the large, impressive corridors of the palace, while Zuko calmly explained and showed them the different parts. He pointed out the portraits of the former Fire Lords (which they passed rather quickly), the Royal garden (where the turtle ducks quacked loudly when they saw Zuko, who blushed and embarrassedly told the crew to stop laughing.

After that they moved outside to the courtyard, where numerous workers were milling about, fixing the buildings that encircled the yard. Many of the roofs had been replaced, and heaps of charred wood were piled here and there.

A few workers bowed quickly as they saw the Fire Lord approach, and others made an effort to look even busier than they actually were.

A few sailors whistled impressively. "What happened here?" they asked curiously.

"Eh, you know, Azula and I had an Agni Kai during the comet. Things got out of hand and we pretty much burned down the place. She cheated, as usual. Shot me with lightning again."

He paused for a moment and noticed that they were all hanging onto his words. "The courtyard is not exactly made for excessive fire duels though. The actual arena is much more fire proof. It's not exactly wooden."

"When have you ever,-"started someone but was quickly silenced by a glare from the Fire Lord.

"I believe Uncle filled you in on the details." He said curtly. _Which I told him not to_ , he muttered under his breath.

They made small talk as they made their way towards the stables and the pen, where Daisy was happily chewing on a large slab of meat. The stable boy who was standing by the wall a short distance from her looked about ready to pass out. Daisy was between him and the gate, cutting off any attempts of escape, and he didn't quite dare to move in case he provoked her.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked the boy with concern.

"I'm fine, sir. Thank you sir." He answered promptly, lying through his teeth. Zuko decided to let it go.

"How had she settled in? I heard she's been redecorating a bit."

"She's one of the nastiest komodo rhinos I've met," said the stable boy outspokenly "She's downright terrifying, actually. I'm afraid she'll tear down the whole place and attack people. The only way to calm her down was to give her meat, but she can't eat forever, sir. And she won't let me out from here."

Zuko sniffed offended. "Daisy is a lovely komodo rhino. I bet she just doesn't trust you very much."

He was about to continue speaking as the crew laughed slightly behind his back. "What's so funny?" he snapped irritated.

"D-Daisy, sir. You call that beast Daisy and," the crewman snorted slightly "oh Agni, the boy is right. I've never seen her behave nicely towards anyone. She'd attack anyone who went down in the rhino hold on the ship. She almost bit my hand off once. I'm sorry sir but this is hilarious."

The rest of the crew agreed and the snickers got louder. Zuko locked eyes with Lieutenant Jee who looked to be in good humor. Zuko unknowingly pouted slightly as he narrowed his eyes and silently prompted the Lieutenant to speak up.

"Actually," started Jee airily "Daisy can behave perfectly civilly." The group looked doubtfully at Jee before he continued. "Towards Prince Zuko, of course. She's got a temper to match though." He said cheekily.

Zuko flushed from embarrassment as he heard the jab on his temper. He had been working on calming himself down. Honestly.

"I don't believe you!" claimed one soldier loudly as he tried to bait Zuko. It worked.

"You don't have to." Said Zuko sulkily, as he tried to look as though he wasn't willing to prove himself.

" _Come ooon_ , we have a bet running here. You don't want to be the reason I lose, do you? Because I'm betting you can do it!" yet another person chimed in.

"Do what?" asked Zuko aggressively.

"Prove that she's nice, I dare you."

"But my robes will get dirty again." Whined Zuko and stopped himself as he realized how childish he sounded. He abruptly changed his tone as he continued speaking "But I guess I could go change again. Perhaps into something less sweltering, even."

"Yeah, and if you can't do it, which I'm betting on, at least we'll get a good laugh out of the spectacle." Added the first soldier.

The stable boy looked terrified as the Fire Lord clumsily climbed into the rhino pen. His robes were not made for aerobics. "SIR! But sir, she's really dangerous. Sir, you could get hurt. Please don't do it." He pleaded.

"Calm down, she won't do anything." Stated Zuko dismissively.

Everyone but Jee held their breath as Zuko walked over to the still eating komodo rhino. She was easily as high as the Fire Lord, blood and saliva was smeared around her mouth, and she looked extremely busy eating.

"Hi girl." Said Zuko softly and stopped about two meters from her. "I'm sorry I don't have a snack for you, but you seem quite busy anyway. Don't think you'd be hungry anyway, at the rate you're eating. But then again, you haven't been eating much lately, have you?"

Zuko calmly waited for her to turn her attention to him. When she did, she took a step towards him, sniffed slightly at his robes, and pressed her bloody snout into his robes, effectively destroying any chances he had at getting away with clean robes. She looked through his pockets and groaned disapprovingly as she didn't find any of the jerky she liked so much. In his left pocket she found something, and promptly decided to try it out. Zuko snorted slightly and affectionately scratched her behind the ear and brought out the apple he had been carrying.

"Ah, I'd forgotten about that." He mumbled to her.

Zuko easily parted the apple in two halves and offered one of them to her. After a moment she took it and squashed it between her strong jaws, fruit juice dribbling down her face.

"That's tasty, isn't it girl?" he asked just to make conversation. "I'll give you the other half if you do something for me."

Daisy looked curiously at him as she wondered what she would have to do to get the other part of the apple. She tentatively lifted her right foot and waved it in the air in an attempt to persuade him to feed her. When he only laughed she tried her right one, before she angrily stomped on the ground, creating a small dusty cloud.

Zuko whistled sharply and started walking towards the other side of the pen, coaxing her along the way and showing off the apple. She followed behind him and stopped when he did. Zuko gave her the treat and turned to address the stable boy. "I think you can go out now, if you do it quietly and calmly. Back away and don't look her in the eyes, she'll see it as a challenge." He warned seriously.

The boy unsteadily walked over to the gate and joined the stunned crewmembers. The fact that Zuko hadn't been exaggerating hadn't even crossed their minds. Plus, they all knew how irritable this particular komodo rhino had been towards them.

On the other side of the pen Zuko kept coddling Daisy and giving her all of his attention. He didn't notice how his frown had disappeared, or how tender he looked as he petted her and scratched her behind her ears. Daisy, however, kept leaning towards him and angling her head so that he would scratch differently.

A moment passed as Daisy grew greedy and tired, and lovingly buffed the Fire Lord with her gigantic head. Zuko promptly fell on his butt from the sudden shove, and flicked her on the nose as he gently chided her for being careless. Daisy actually looked ashamed that she had upset him.

"Daisy, we've been through this before. Shoving me on the ground won't make me give you another treat" he told her seriously, as one would a child.

Daisy smelled the seated Fire Lord and shoved her head into his robes, still looking for treats and growling slightly.

"Stop it you big baby, we have an audience."

Zuko grabbed onto her frontal horn, shifted, and let himself be dragged up as she lifted her head. He patted her appreciatively on the shoulder, and walked back over to the spectators.

He was followed at the heel by Daisy, who seemed more and more agitated the nearer they walked. She didn't act out though, she just looked ready to attack, which she probably was.

"Lieutenant, Daisy wants more jerky." He said demandingly and stretched his hand over the railing.

Jee answered in good humor. "You know that she's going to get spoiled, right?"

"I've been spoiling her for years."

"Now's a good day to stop, isn't it?"

"But she really wants it."

"You took my bag earlier today, isn't that enough, sir?"

"I don't have it on me, do I? And I know you have a stash on you. You _always_ do."

Zuko and Jee glaringly locked eyes and tried to stare each other down. Zuko eventually tried another tactic. He comically pinched Daisy's cheeks and made them bulge slightly. He looked Jee in the face with his well-practiced puppy eyes, and said with a baby voice "can you say no to this face?"

When the crew started laughing he realized that he had made it sound as if he had meant his face and not Daisy's. He flushed bright red and quickly tried to defend himself. "I meant the komodo rhino! I know that you know that. Stop laughing at me!" he couldn't help that he got so frustrated. He was just not made to deal with such moments.

"Sir, you already used that one today."

"And it worked." Zuko stated sulkily, glaring at him again.

To his relief Lieutenant Jee sighed and gave him three strips of jerk, which calmed him slightly. The crew sniggered and gave Jee the money they had bet. He brightened at this and shoved the missing jerky from his mind.

Zuko, however, turned to Daisy and immediately gave her a piece of jerky. She munched happily let droplets of saliva fall to the ground.

A few moments later they were interrupted by a group of distressed guards, who all looked about ready to rush in and protect the Fire Lord from Daisy. A lone advisor came soon after, looking out of breath.

"Fire Lord Zuko, get away from the animal! She's extremely dangerous!" the captain of the squad yelled as he ran towards them.

"Captain, stand down. You're embarrassing yourself." He commanded briskly. The squad paused and awaited orders, still trying to make sense of the situation. They all knew that komodo rhinos were ill tempered and to be approached with caution. When they looked a moment longer, they all noticed that the komodo rhino wasn't… attacking? Why wasn't it attacking?

"What exactly do you think you're doing, anyway?" asked Zuko irritated and gave Daisy another piece of jerky to keep her busy. If she was busy she wouldn't attack and probably run down the fence. "And back off a bit, she's feeling crowded."

"Fire Lord Zuko." The advisor greeted him pompously. "Dinner is in fifteen minutes. I suggest you… clean up a bit, unless you'd make the wrong impression."

"I was just going to finish up here when you arrived, Daisy wouldn't let the stable boy out of the pen." He explained annoyed. "And I don't need a baby sitter, Advisor. I know what I'm doing."

"Obviously someone has to look after you. Look at you!" said the advisor accusatory. "Covered in blood and slobber, all dusty, hanging around with this… riff raff, and riding dangerous animals around the capitol."

"Advisor." Said Zuko warningly, but the advisor paid him no mind and continued.

"You can't honestly believe people will take you seriously if you keep this up. Think about the consequences, Lord Zuko. I know you were raised better than this. In fact, I can recall-"

"Advisor Chen I strongly suggest you shut your mouth."

The advisor promptly did as he was told and Zuko continued. "First of all, I am the Fire Lord, I can do whatever I want. It is not your place to question me. Second, this ´dangerous animal´ has a name. Daisy's behaving fine right now. I know how dangerous she can be, but we get along just fine."

Zuko stared the Advisor angrly in the eyes and said the last part darkly. "And thirdly, I am amongst friends at the moment, who don't exactly know how many etiquette rules I'm breaking at the moment, _nor do they mind_."

Zuko paused for a moment before he used both his hands to push Daisy's lips up, exposing her impressive teeth.

"The next time you choose to insult Daisy and I, along with my honored guests, I will personally throw you to her, in this pen. That'll show you just how docile she is when I'm not hindering her from attacking."

"Very well, my Lord." The advisor said snootily and walked away. Apparently he remembered his initial fright of Daisy from earlier in the day. That and the threat made for a hasty retreat.

Zuko petted Daisy for a moment longer before he climbed over the fence.

"As dumb as Advisor Chen can be sometimes, he's right about the time. I'll just go change and then we'll make it down to the banquet hall." He said airily and started walking inside, towards the Fire Lord's chambers.

They took a few turns in the heavily decorated halls. At the end of a hall were the royal chambers, where numerous portraits hung on the walls.

The crew stopped to look even though Zuko tried to move away. They were completely enamored by the chubby little baby Zuko and Azula.

"Did you always have the pony tail?" came the inevitable question.

"Yes." Answered Zuko tartly.

"Hmmm, you looked better back then."

"I know."

"Why did you shave around it though, I never understood that?"

"I didn't choose to. I woke up after the… agni kai, and it was gone. Keeping it that way wasmy choice."

"If it's any consolation, you look better without the bald parts."

Zuko sniffed as though he was offended, but it was all in good humor.

"Feel free to stare at my chubby baby face for a few minutes while I go change. You are not invited to this particular show, I'm afraid."

With that Zuko walked inside his stupidly large room and unclothed quickly. He dropped off his clothes in the laundry basket on his way to the bathroom, where he hastily washed off his face and all the parts where dust, blood, and komodo rhino-slobber had stuck to him.

Afterwards he went to his walk-in closet, where he choose an outfit that resembled the one he had worn while at the Western Air Temple, except that it was in the royal colors instead. All of his clothes were in the official royal colors now. He was getting tired of them.

He tried to decide whether he should leave his hair down or not. On one hand the topknot was giving him a headache, and on the other hand he had already given his royal impression to his crew. They didn't seem as awed by it as he had thought.

He left his hair down.

After another look in the giant mirror he deemed himself presentable. Not for court though, but for a private reunion with his crew… Or were they merely acquaintances? Sort of Friends, he decided. They were definitely being friendly.

When he heard his stomach complain he decided he shouldn't keep his sort-of-friends waiting. It was time to go get some dinner.

He rejoined them outside and they walked behind him through the maze, towards the banquet halls. The few nobles and advisors who were leaving for home didn't glance at him, not recognizing him with his hair down and without his Fire Lord regalia. Some servants however, had seen him more relaxed when he was in his quarters, and bowed before they went along with whatever they were doing.

The guards opened the door for them and they walked in. Apparently the staff had noticed that they were a total of fifteen, instead of twenty-one, and removed some plates and tables. Zuko was very grateful for their discretion.

As it was, there was one large table, where Zuko sat at the high end. There were seven chairs on either long side of the table, so that they could sit across from each other. On the walls torches shone brightly, casting a pleasant light in the room.

"Seeing as this is an informal dinner, or semi-formal at best, I'm afraid that some protocol is lacking. Please sit down, dinner will be brought out shortly." Zuko explained easily.

"Exactly what are we missing?" joked one of the sailors after he had sat down.

"Yeah," another chimed in. "Now I'm curious."

"Well…" Zuko started, not sure where to begin. "If this was an actual banquet there would be maybe a hundred nobles to pay attention to, who are all currently shoving their daughters at me, which is why I'm not having many parties right now."

Some people snorted as Zuko paused slightly. He continued as though there had been no interruption.

"And there would be guards along the walls, I would be wearing an even fancier outfit than I had earlier, those were just my office robes. Ah, and there would have been drinks as people mingled before I made my entrance, after which we would have sat down. Be glad you're missing it, it's terribly dull."

He looked down on the plates and utensils and frowned slightly, before he amusedly raised his eyebrow and looked at them with glee.

"It seems like they went all out on the table though. I hope you are all brushed up on your etiquette."

A few horrified looks were shot his way as they started so buzz about what could possibly be expected of them. Two of the younger soldiers wondered why there were so many utensils. Zuko blinked disbelievingly a few times, as he tried to formulate the right words.

"There's one for each dish." He managed to say without unintentionally mocking them. He really didn't want to do that, but he felt that it was so obvious…. But it wasn't, was it? Most of the crew had peasant or middle-class upbringing. It was not obvious to them. He tried to be nice.

"We will have an assortment of dishes today, starting off wi-"

"How are we going to eat several portions!? That's impossible!"

"Yeah, we may eat a lot but that's outrageous. How are you not fat if you eat a whole lot for dinner every day?"

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose and held up a hand to shush them.

"The portions are much smaller, and they are served every twentieth minute or something, so that we won't feel uncomfortably full. And I'd recommend not eating everything in case you'd feel too full to continue. It is extremely rude to not taste every dish"

They seemed to be content with the answer, because they did not ask anything else about the dishes.

A few seconds later a side door was opened and a few servants came through carrying the first dishes. They served the Fire Lord first, then made their way around the table. Some of the guests wondered if they were allowed to start eating, but when they made eye contact with Zuko, who shook his head slightly, they realized they should wait until everything had calmed down.

Plates with different foods were placed periodically on the table, for every set of four, so that everyone could reach everything.

First off was a light salad of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, finely chopped red onion, and basil leaves. The second plate was filled with small triangular packages of phyllo dough. One side was filled with spinach and feta cheese, while the other half contained ones filled with a rich cheese and lightly fried pieces of ham. Lastly was a plate of crisp asparagus, seasoned with chili and garlic.

The servants were quick to pour the wine for the company. A rich red wine from the best vineyards in the Fire Nation, actually. Completely wasted on the low-born sailors, some people would say. Zuko thought differently.

When the servants had left through the side door, Zuko cleared his throat and the room fell quiet.

"Well. Um… Uncle always told me to never ruin an apology with an excuse, so I won't. Because there is no excuse for how I've treated you all, and I'm sorry that I was too stuck up to treat you all with the respect you deserved."

They all looked gob smacked by the unexpected apology. Honestly, they were all just happy to be invited to the Royal Palace, and to dinner nonetheless. But Zuko wasn't quite finished.

"You don't have to accept my apology, and honestly I would understand if you don't. But if there's any way I can make it up to you, let me know."

A few seconds passed before they all started talking over each other. Snippets of arguments were thrown around, half of them addressed to Zuko and half of them to each other. From what he could gather he seemed to be forgiven, and they were now thinking about how to best bargain for stuff. He really should have predicted that.

In a way it made him happy because then there was something he could _do_ about it. They gave him a way to earn his forgiveness, and for that he was grateful. It also felt very good to get that off his chest.

"Gentlemen!" he interrupted after a minute or so. "We can talk this over later, but if we don't want the food to get cold we should get started."

Lieutenant Jee raised his glass to make a toast. "To Prince Zuko!"

"To Prince Zuko!" the others echoed and drank, while Zuko mentally corrected Prince Zuko to Fire Lord Zuko.

They all started piling food on their plates, most of them looking at Zuko, trying to follow his example of impeccable table manners.

All the times they had joked about him having a stick up his ass suddenly seemed real. To think that a person could sit with a poise like that was beyond them. But then again, he had had many hard lessons about proper dinner etiquette.

The food was incredibly well cooked, and some of the best they had ever tasted. If it was one thing they all were sure about, it was that Zuko could throw one hell of a dinner party if he wanted.

The Fire Lord himself was content to listen in on the conversations around him. Occasionally he would get into a small argument with them, pointing out stuff that was incorrect, adding to the stories, or plainly just telling them a bit about the things he had seen.

Servants came in and replaced their plates with new ones, and refilled the table with new food. Shrimp in hot sauce, skewered chicken with satay-sauce, pork with thyme, and chicken with noodles adorned the table, much to the delight of all the guests. Bowls of rice accompanied the main dishes.

In between the chewing they managed to exchange stories and mock each other relentlessly, raising the spirits in the room. Apparently some of the crew had been sent back to the Fire Nation at once after they had been dumped at port, while some had found partial employment. The rest of the crew were still in the colonies or stuck on Fire Nation ships.

By the time the second round of food was cleared from the table, they were all feeling pleasantly buzzed, and chatting about the time Lieutenant Jee had gotten drunk and accidentally bought five crates of plums, which he was not able to return to the merchant, because he had no idea what he looked like. The crew had decided to make some plum wine, which went well until Zuko found out about it. Then he wanted in, and they all kept it from Iroh, who generally didn't allow alcohol on the ship. The wine happened to be the only alcoholic beverage Zuko had actually enjoyed on that ship, which he loudly told them.

"I remember the first time you tried the paint stripper!" exclaimed Lieutenant Jee heartily. "It was hilarious. General Iroh was so mad at us."

"No wonder he was mad. Seeing as y'all were corrupting me, and giving me alcohol, playing cards and betting on whatever you could find."

"Oh, come on, we were mostly betting on how much you could drink before you threw up."

"That stuff was so disgusting, I can't help it that my poor stomach has better taste and chose to expel it."

"You just can't hold your alcohol."

"Can too!"

"Can't!"

"Watch me!"

Zuko got up and walked over to the servants' entrance, with the crews' laughter ringing behind him. He quickly spoke to the already busy chef, and told her to send for some plum wine, and some extra strong liquor. For a dare, he explained unnecessarily, to which the chef shook her head disapprovingly. Strong liquor didn't go well with the food, she said, but she'd send for some after dessert if they still wanted it. Zuko returned with three bottles of plum wine, to the amusement of all.

"I'm afraid that we're not allowed strong liquor just yet, apparently it spoils the taste. But I did get a hold of some plum wine, to honor our great Lieutenant."

Cheers and laughter interrupted Zuko, who cheekily added "It seems like you got your _ridiculously expensive fancy fruit wine_ , after all."

"Do you have to repeat that so often, I only said that once. And I only said it because you were getting drunk on my wine, and you promised me compensation."

"It is kind of funny though." Snickered Zuko.

"Psssh, whatever." Lieutenant Jee said flippantly.

Zuko continued to laugh under his breath as he strolled over and placed two bottles on the table, for the crew. He removed the cork on the last bottle and poured some wine for Jee, before he sat down and poured his own. He passed the bottle to the ones sitting near him, letting them have their fill.

Not ten minutes after, the servants showed up again and cleared the table. They replaced the mostly empty trays with new ones. The dessert was an assortment of different desserts. Watermelon, grapes, plums, mangos, peeled and sliced oranges, apple, and pineapple adorned the plate that held the fruit. A small plate with mild feta cheese stood on the edge, to go with the watermelon.

Small sweet cakes were piled on a different one. There were crispy almond cookies, phyllo dough rolls with dates and walnuts that were practically dripping of honey, small brownies with frosting on top, almond nougats, and shortbread with ginger and cinnamon.

The very last plate held small cups of mousse. There were raspberry, strawberry, lemon, and orange flavors. They were all adorned with tiny pieces of fruit, to represent their flavors.

Zuko happily piled sweets onto his plate and started nibbling on the delicacies. The engineer was entertaining half the table with stories of his family, with whom he was living with in between jobs. Apparently he was trying to find a full time job at the moment, but was having a hard time finding one nearby. He'd rather not travel too much and miss out on the family life, he said longingly.

"I can fix you a job." Said Zuko airily as he contemplated his options. "If you want to I could personally recommend you for some place. Just get an idea of where you want to work and I'll have a talk with them. Or I could just tell people to get the word around that you're looking for a job, it should be easy enough."

"You'd do that for me?" the engineer asked, wanting Zuko to confirm it. "Seriously?"

"Of course I'm serious." Zuko didn't like it when people didn't take his word. Not that he thought that the engineer had meant it that way, but it was a matter of principle. And he was a very serious person. "We can look at it tomorrow or something. Or whenever you want to."

"That'd be great, thank you prince Zuko!"

"To Prince Zuko!" exclaimed someone and raised his glass.

"Hear hear!" the others crowed and drank happily.

Zuko wasn't sure where to look, his eyes flickered all over the room, avoiding their gazes. He was not ready to admit that he felt rather proud of himself, and that the others were acknowledging it. He felt a slight flush creep upwards towards his face and ears, coloring them lightly red. Was it really that much of a big deal?

"It's Fire Lord Zuko now…" he mumbled huffily just to have something to say.

"You'll always be Prince Zuko to us though." Lieutenant Jee told him unabashedly. "At least 'til you can manage to grow a beard and have a few kids."

"What does that have to do with anything, I'm still the Fire Lord." Zuko retorted.

"Yeah, sure, but you're also a teenager." Lieutenant Jee rudely pointed at Zuko, looking at him critically "and you still look more a boy than a man, so I'll save your title for when you can fit into your office robes without drowning in the fabric."

"Are you trying to get on my bad side, Lieutenant?" asked Zuko irritated. "There's nothing wrong with my robes."

"They looked pretty large though."

"They are large. They're designed to be."

"Still, my point stands."

"If you're so interested in my wardrobe you are free to tailor the robes to your liking."

"I do believe that's not what I pointed out."

"What do you want me to do, age faster? Sort of difficult, don't you think?"

"I'm just saying that you're very young, Prince Zuko. I'm sure you'll fit into your robes in a couple of years."

"You're full of shit, Lieutenant."

"If you say so, sir." Lieutenant Jee laughed amusedly.

Zuko considered throwing some fruit on Lieutenant Jee but decided that that would be very inappropriate and probably not work out in his favor. It was very tempting, regardless. He decided that glaring at him over a glass of wine was hostile enough.

Jee smirked at him nonchalantly but directed his attention to another conversation. He figured that he was pushing his boundaries a bit, but since Zuko hadn't exploded with rage yet, the game was still on.

Soon after the strong liquor had been brought out, they sung some indecent drinking songs, to which they happily drank shot after shot. And after yet another hour had passed, they felt more than done with the dinner. Zuko extended his hospitality and claimed that there were some spare rooms in case any of them wanted to stay overnight, as was the custom for guests. They politely declined and stated that they were more than capable of finding their way home. Mostly they still felt intimidated by the fancy palace.

When they slowly gathered around the palace doors, which were guarded by two guards, they thanked Zuko profusely and told him to compliment the cooks again. A few smiled and clapped him on the shoulder when they passed by on their way out. Zuko felt the phantom weight of their hands long after they had left. It felt good. Almost as good as when he had saved the helmsman during the storm. It felt like acceptance.


End file.
